Julian Wood
About Julian Wood
Julian works on our economics project, primarily examining regional development in New Zealand. With a Master’s in Social Science from Waikato University, Julian brings a depth of experience from his time working as a senior policy analyst for the Department of Labour, where he focused on labour market dynamics, minimum wage and employment legislation, regional development, business dynamics, and immigration.
Most Recent Activity
Policy Paper | Back to Work
By Julian Wood
Nations around the world are expecting low or negative growth and higher unemployment rates as a result of fighting COVID-19….
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Investing in a resilient workforce
By Julian Wood
When the Government closed New Zealand’s borders in response to COVID-19, flaws in our labour market were exposed. Not only…
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Government should save jobs by “plugging gaps” in council budgets
By Julian Wood
Auckland Council is forecasting a $525 million dollar hole in its budget as a result of COVID-19. It’s not alone….
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COVID-19 economic analysis – 20.05.2020
By Julian Wood
The following is an overview and commentary on economic information available from Treasury, the Reserve Bank, and the Government’s 2020/21…
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Invest in people alongside new infrastructure
By Julian Wood
The euphoria we are all feeling after entering Level 2 will be tempered by the pain of pay cuts and…
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COVID-19 economic analysis – 22.04.2020
By Julian Wood
Analysis of Treasury’s scenario forecasts (released 13 April) and weekly economic commentary (released 17 April), by Senior Researcher Julian Wood…
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But now, who pays?
By Julian Wood
On Tuesday last week, the New Zealand Treasury outlined five economic scenarios that aimed to depict how the economy may…
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Charities to be squeezed on both sides
By Julian Wood
In an unprecedented move, last week the Government announced a $12.1 billion package to combat the economic impact of Covid-19….
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Migration Policy Paper: A Welcome That Works
By Julian Wood
Over the last 30 years, New Zealand has become over reliant on temporary work migration as a way to solve…
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A welcome that works
By Julian Wood
In the 90’s the regions cried out for workers to pick fruit, plant trees and generally do a range of…
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Good migration policy is about more than just jobs
By Julian Wood
Recent political posturing over partnership visas and arranged marriages is a troubling distraction that derails the real, necessary debates we…
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Review our reliance on temporary workers
By Julian Wood
New Zealanders are heavy users of temporary work migration, so it was disappointing that no-one seriously discussed this last week…
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Checking our climate blind spots
By Julian Wood
When it comes to emissions it is easy for us to obsess about factories and farmers as if these activities…
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Preparing for economic downturn
By Julian Wood
There’s been a lot of recent chat about a possible economic downturn, and many seem to be living under the…
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The pitfalls and priorities of Public Private Partnerships
By Julian Wood
New Zealand has a long and contentious history of private public partnerships (or PPPs). The biggest argument in favour of…
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We can’t afford to sleep on climate risks any longer
By Julian Wood
The story of Rip Van Winkle, first published 200 years ago, resonates deeply with me. I too feel like I…
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Budget reveals wellbeing will cost more than Rules allow
By Julian Wood
The figures announced in last week’s Wellbeing Budget stretches the Government’s self-imposed Budget Responsibility Rules (keeping the level of net…
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Making New Zealand “sexy”
By Julian Wood
In contrast with our apparently “sexy” accent, New Zealand is struggling when it comes to being attractive as a long-term…
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Provincial Growth Fund | Conclusions and Recommendations
By Julian Wood
Perhaps we cannot raise the winds. But each of us can put up the sail, so that when the wind…
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Provincial Growth Fund | Comparative Analysis
By Julian Wood
We will undertake a comparative analysis of how the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) aligns with the Regional Action Plans (RAPs)….
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